“Do you remember any other kids from our old group?”

“Um, there was you, and my sister Gina. Then there were Marcus, Emil, Lombard, Ashley, Kuja, and...Velitra.”

“Right, yeah. You’re missing a few, but you got most of the ones who were with us a long time.”

“R-Really? That’s good.”

After a moment of silence, Zenos asked gently, “Hey, Liz, you wouldn’t happen to know where Velitra is, would you?”

“Velitra was the one you were good friends with, right? I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“Makes sense. You don’t even remember much about your own sister, so of course you wouldn’t know.” Zenos crossed his arms and hummed thoughtfully. “Guess it won’t be that simple. Let’s just leave it at that for tonight. Putting too much pressure on you won’t do any good either.”

“O-Okay.”

“How about we go on a walk tomorrow? Since you passed out in the ruined city, maybe you have a connection to this area. Walking around may help you remember something.”

“All right. Thank you.” Was he really thinking of her well-being? Sure, they’d known each other as children, but now she was nothing more than a tribute to him, right? “Say, why go out of your way for me?”

“Hmm? I mean, you took care of me way back when, right? If there’s anything I can do for you, I will.”

Liz still wasn’t sure whether or not he was plotting something, so she decided to subtly probe further. “By the way, what do you do here, Zenos?”

“Me? Uh...” Zenos hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Well, it’s not something I can talk openly about.”

“Oh?” Liz leaned forward. “So it’s something shady, you mean?”

Zenos’s expression was subtly awkward. “I can’t deny that, no.”

So he is the mastermind, then? The missing basement, the absence of guards, and his demeanor not having changed from what she’d remembered had all contributed to her sense of dissonance, but he was clearly acting suspicious now.

“Do you keep a lot of women around you?” she asked pointedly.

“Um, not in the way you’d think, but I can’t deny there are a lot of weird women around me.”

“And you do human experiments, don’t you?”

“You’re not making any sense, but no? I mean, I examine people’s bodies, but not for experiments or anything.”

There it is! He’s the mastermind, all right! Their conversation had been very confusing, but it was clear he was hiding something. Liz kept her hand under the table and extended her index fingernail.

No. Not yet, she decided. Attacking him head-on without knowing what tricks he had up his sleeve was too risky. It was better to wait for a more guaranteed opportunity.

“Anyway, good night, Liz,” Zenos said as he stood up.

“Good night, Zenos,” Liz replied with a smile, smirking internally.

Yes. Good. The perfect time to strike would be once he fell asleep.

***

In the dead of night, when not a soul was awake, Liz’s eyes snapped open.

She’d pretended to sleep on the bed by the front door and waited for the perfect moment. It was time. After taking a few deep breaths, she cautiously got out of bed.

“All right. Here we go,” she whispered to herself, ready to conclude her brief yet never-ending infiltration. Without a sound, she headed toward the bedroom at the end of the hallway.

Mastermind or no, he’d be defenseless if she attacked him in his sleep.

Liz paused in front of the bedroom door, quieting her breaths, scanning for any presences within. The quiet sounds of two people’s steady breaths filled the air. “Now,” she said, slowly and carefully opening the door. Her eyes, accustomed to the darkness, spotted two beds—the elf girl slept in the back bed, and Zenos in the one closest to the door.

She silently extended the nail of her index finger, still holding her breath as she approached Zenos’s bed. His right hand was sticking out from under the covers, and all she needed was a tiny scratch.

“Do you need something from Zenos?” came a sudden voice.

Liz yelped awkwardly, startled. Cautiously, she shifted her gaze to the bed in the back, where the young elf girl lay propped on one elbow.

“What do you need at this hour, Liz?” the girl asked, expressionless, in a flat tone that only made her scarier.

“Oh, sorry, I was just... I was looking for the bathroom, and...”

“Ah! I see. The bathroom is on the opposite side of the hallway,” the elven girl replied in a cheerful tone, seemingly relieved.

“Yes. Thank you,” Liz said, backing away from the bedroom in a tactical retreat. What a terrifying girl. How did she wake up just then?

Liz chewed on her nail as she made her way to the bathroom down the hallway. She’d thought she’d been sufficiently sneaky, but maybe they were more guarded than she’d anticipated.

Well, no matter. Even his elven attendant would have to sleep at some point. All she had to do was be steadfast and wait until then.

And she did. She waited very steadfastly. Liz was a woman willing to wait as long as it took for the sake of her plans, after all. Then, just as dawn began to break, Liz finally crawled her way back to the bedroom.

“Why does this have to be so difficult?” she muttered quietly, cursing under her breath as she opened the door without making a sound. This time she made sure the two were asleep before approaching silently, and once again extending her fingertip toward Zenos’s right hand.

“What do you want with Zenos...?” the elf girl asked again.

Liz froze in place.

But the girl only mumbled in response—she’d been sleep talking.

Don’t scare me like that, Liz grumbled inwardly, breathing a sigh of relief. She touched her fingernail to the tip of Zenos’s finger, and scratched it lightly. Yes! Mission complete!

***

Amid the morning sun and the chirping of birds, Zenos opened his eyes.

He sat up and looked toward the bed next to his, where Lily was still sleeping. One long stretch later, he headed for the examination room. Liz was supposed to be sleeping on the bed there, but when he opened the door, he found her already sitting up.

“Good morning, Zenos,” she chirped.